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INDIA
Automotive Tyres Manufacturers Association (ATMA) to address issues and challenges related to tyre safety in India.
Naveen Thapa, Project Director for Tyrexpo India 2018 said, “This year, we can expect Tyrexpo India and GarageXpo India 2018 to be bigger and better in terms of the representation of companies and industry participations. This platform serves as a one-stop solution for the tyre and automotive communities. The exhibitors could discuss challenges, showcase
products and share knowledge. We are expecting more than 100 preferential business meetings to be facilitated on-site for commercial opportunities, new business partnerships and professional networking.”
It is now the country’s premier trade show for the tyre community held over three days and played host to more than 4,000 trade visitors from across India and other countries.
MTS to Focus on Tubeless Radial Repair
Omega to Foray into Sri Lankan Retreading Market
With the surging radialisation of the Indian tyre industr y, Myers India Limited will focus on tubeless tyre repairs in India. “Our focus will be on tubeless radial repairs more and we will phase out tubed tyre patches used in bias tyres in the next few years, as the future of the industr y lies with tubeless radials,” informed Durai Ganesh S, Deputy General Manager Myers Tire Supply India Limited (MTS) at Tyrexpo India 2018.
TVS Automobile Solutions Ltd (TVS ASL) has a joint venture with Ohio based Myers Tire Supply International Inc. with the Indian conglomerate holding a majority 65 per cent share. The Indian JV has four plants with three in Chennai and one in Satara. Among the three units in Chennai, one is an export- oriented unit (EOU).
The JV offers a wide range of tyre servicing tools and
accessories for the
retreading of tyres in
the Indian market.
The company also
distributes the Kwik
Patch brand of tyre
repair patches
manufactured by
Kwik Patch Ltd.
Currently, Myers is
the only company
engaged in the
manufacturing of
tubeless tyre repair
materials in India. It is also into contract manufacturing for overseas brands, “We are also engaged in private labelling for number of European brands,” he confided.
Myers is also a single source for tyre and tube repairs for a broad spectrum of segments like for fleets, tyre dealers, auto dealers, retreaders etc. It remains the only firm in India that produces ever y product in tyre repair from tools to service passenger, truck, and off-road tyres and wheels.
Interestingly, as part of increasing digitalisation in India, Myers has launched a mobile application for product ordering, which can be
downloaded on any normal android phone. “We introduced the App in November last year and but are still pushing customers to order through the App in order to have an unmanned operation with minimal human interference,” explained Durai.
Myers manufactures 30-40 million patches each month in India, exports to more than 30 countries including ASEAN, Europe and Americas. “We have warehouses in Charleston (USA), Thailand and Istanbul, which are actually TVS logistics centres shared by Myers for supplies in the markets,” he said. MTS distributes around eight categories of products for tyre retreading and it is known as one- stop shop for retreading tools and accessories. It supplies the complete line of tyre valve hardware, tyre patches, tyre changing tools,
Robin Sunny, Director Omega Trading Company
Durai Ganesh S, Deputy General Manager, Myers Tire Supply India Limited (MTS)
Kerala based major distributor of Elgi Rubber, Omega is planning to expand into the retreading business. Thrissur based Omega Trading Company is all set to open a retreading facility in neighbouring Sri Lanka. “The proposed plant is expected to be operational in the coming year and will be located at around 40 km from Colombo, in an Industrial complex,” revealed Robin Sunny, Director Omega Trading Company at Tyrexpo India 2018 held at Pragati Maidan recently.
The plant is expected to have the installed capacity to retread 3,000 truck and light commercial vehicle (LCV) tyres each month. Commenting on the foray in the mature Sri Lankan market, Sunny pointed out, “Sri Lanka is always a lucrative market in terms of retreading. It has scope for everyone to grow.”
China has been investing a lot in building the infrastructure in Sri Lanka from quite some time. Chinese business won a number of major projects for building roads and ports recently and that has been a push factor in the island’s logistics activity. That, in turn, has a direct bearing over the movement of vehicles and the retread sector. “The retreading industry is quite mature in Sri Lanka, with some of the retreaders having huge facilities considering the small
size of the country. It has been growing in a very structured manner over many years,” he thinks.
Omega has been distributing Elgi consumables such as envelopes, curing bags, patches etc for almost a decade and has been engaged in the rubber business for the last 50 years. Based in the fourth largest city of the coastal state of Kerala, Omega supplies Elgi consumables in the three Southern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It entered the new tyre business about two decades ago.
On the retreading industry he said, “The retreading industry has been getting organised from last few years, small scale retread outlets are moving out of business as unorganised retread shops are not prepared for radialisation and it has almost taken them by surprise. Moreover, small retreaders operating as a cottage industry do not have the required expertise or technology to service tubeless radials. Meanwhile, bigger retreaders are organised and are investing in technology to remain in business.
“They have acquired a technological edge through exposure to international trade, while small players have limited access to technology, forcing them to wind up their business. Therefore, technology is key to growth in any sector today.”
equipment, wheel weight, tyre wheel alignment tools, bonding gum, black vulcanising cement etc. The company offers a range of products to the modern retread facility. “We promote ourselves as single point of contact for retreading tools besides we are not just providing high-quality tyre repair and retread products but a whole process right from tyre inspection through to deliver y to the customer,” he emphasised.
“We are also planning to start a training centre to certify vulcanisers in the Chennai plant by the end of 2019, and at Satara later.”
66 Retreading Business
North India’s Biggest Retreader Remains Committed to Indag
Indag Rubber’s largest dedicated customer in Northern India, Haryana Cold Retread, remains committed to the Delhi headquartered tread maker. It started as an Indag franchisee in
1992 and remain loyal to it in the post 2008 phase, when Indag switched from a franchisee system to the open market as it believes the changing market dynamics make it